There was a time when June meant copious rains. Lakes, rivers, and reservoirs would over-flow and politicians would take the opportunity to offer prayers to these water bodies. Called as offering of bagina, politicians used the occasion to get publicity in the media. This state-sponsored ritual has significance as it is a form of thanksgiving to the rain gods for their bounty which would help farmers’ carry out their agricultural operations smoothly, resulting in the overall economic prosperity.
What is going on now on the river fronts stands in stark contrast. This time, the state is sponsoring a ceremony to immerse the ashes of the Covid victims. Revenue Minister R Ashok who oversaw the arrangements for this ceremony recently on the banks of the river Cauvery claimed that he considered it his privilege to do this traditional post-cremation ceremony as it is a belief that when the ashes of the dead, preserved in small clay pots, are immersed in the flowing waters, the souls of the deceased attain their liberation. The cultural significance of the belief apart, the minister’s exuberance over his participation in an event of this nature is absurd. The government instead of lamenting the fact that a situation like this has arisen, primarily because of its own multiple failures, seems to be considering it as an achievement that it could organize the event.
As thousands of people fell victim to the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic in the absence of immediate medical attention, the relatives were too scared to perform the last rites of the victims or in some cases, they did not have the resources to do this. Instead of taking pride in the fact that the government could sponsor the ritual in which the unclaimed ashes of victims were duly released into the river, the government should have used the occasion to introspect over its all-round failures which had led to the death of so many people during the pandemic.
Earlier, ministers of this government had taken pride in the fact that they were able to put up temporary cremation grounds and to provide refreshments to those who brought bodies of their near and dear for cremation. This was when the existing crematoria in many parts of the state could not cope with the pressure of steady flow of bodies. Here again, the ministers instead of owning up the responsibility for the death of so many people, which is a direct consequence of gross inadequacy of health infrastructure, used the occasion as a publicity event. Nothing could expose the government’s insensitivity more than this.
Ever since the pandemic started playing havoc, local administration, various social organizations, and even individual volunteers have been disposing off hundreds of bodies, which remained unclaimed. Now, suddenly the minister sprang up to organize this post-cremation ritual and to publicize the event in the media. Generally, these rituals vary widely across castes and communities, and nobody demanded that the state should sponsor a standardized ceremony. Organizing events of this sort is not the primary responsibility of the government. This was obviously a ploy to divert the public attention from the failures of the government, which led to so many deaths in the first place. Second, the government also failed to take action against people who were capitalizing on the people’s misery by allotting hospital beds and life-saving medicines in black market.
More importantly, it is ironical that the state, which has been organizing caste-based vaccination camps privileging priestly classes over Dalits for administering Covid-19 vaccine, is now organizing post-cremation rituals for the dead according to Brahminical traditions disregarding the diverse social traditions that the people followed for this ceremony. The state deputy chief minister’s justification for caste-based vaccine camps, a gross discriminatory practice amidst a humanitarian crisis, was even more disconcerting. ‘Don’t priests have a right to get vaccinated?’ he asked in response to the criticisms. Of course, the priests have the rights but so do others. The question is why should people belonging to one caste be prioritized over others in the administration of vaccine? At least now, the Revenue Minister, who was so keen on organizing the ceremony for mass immersion of the ashes of Covid victims in accordance with Vedic Brahminical traditions, should take up the responsibility of arranging free vaccination for the less fortunate castes and communities.
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Bill to regulate deepfakes tabled in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): A Private Member's Bill seeking a clear legal framework for regulation of deepfakes has been introduced in the Lok Sabha.
The Regulation of Deepfake Bill, introduced by Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde in the House on Friday, aims to protect citizens by mandating prior consent from individuals depicted in deepfake content.
"Misuse of deepfakes for harassment, deception and misinformation has escalated, creating an urgent need for regulatory safeguards," Shinde said.
The Bill also lists penalties for offenders creating or disseminating deepfake content with malicious intent.
"With advancements in artificial intelligence and deep learning, deepfake technology has emerged as a significant tool for media manipulation. While the technology has potential applications in education, entertainment and creative fields, it also poses severe risks when misused, threatening individual privacy, national security and public trust," Shinde said in the statement of objects and reasons in the Bill.
The proposed Bill seeks to establish a clear legal framework to govern the creation, distribution and application of deepfakes in India, said Shinde, a three-term Lok Sabha member from Kalyan.
The Bill also seeks to establish the Deepfake Task Force, a dedicated body to combat national security implications and evaluate the influence of deepfakes on privacy, civic participation, and potential election interference.
The task force will collaborate with academic and private sector institutions to develop technologies that detect manipulated content, thereby promoting credibility in digital media.
The Bill also proposes to establish a fund to support public and private sector initiatives in the detection and deterrence of advanced image manipulation.
A Private Member's Bill is a procedure of Parliament that enables lawmakers, who are not ministers, to draw attention to issues that might not be represented in Government Bills or to highlight the issues and gaps in the existing legal framework that require legislative intervention.
